jules815

26 minutes ago, CarnivalShips480 said:

Not all Carnival ships are old and small. Your ship (if it is to NY) is brand new to Carnival, and was built for Costa in 2019.

 

I am pretty sure that there are those lectures, but someone will be able to confirm

It's the Venezia. Didn't recognize the name so assumed it was one of their older, smaller ships. If this is a newer ship, then that's a bonus.  Thanks for the info!

My husband and I are newly retired and now have more time to cruise. There's a 15-day from Barcelona to NY that's caught my eye. I understand these are older, smaller ships, and no problem with that. 

We've done one TA, bringing RC Harmony of the Seas to America for the first time back in 2016. It was one of our favorite cruises. LOVE those sea days. I've been looking at TA's on all different lines and curious if the on board experience is about the same. Does Carnival have daily lectures on all those sea days, etc.?

Thanks in advance.

28 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Much better system than the old system of 2 hours 

Agree! 

On 1/3/2023 at 5:15 PM, Griff4AU said:

 

On 1/3/2023 at 5:15 PM, Griff4AU said:

 

 

 

 

The comparison link you posted is EXACTLY why we booked our first YC cruise back in 2019. We'd cruised many times over the years with our kids on Royal Caribbean and a handful of times on Carnival. It was always 2 cabins. A balcony for us and an interior across the hall for our daughters. FF to 2014 when we were now empty nesters and going on cruises with just the two of us. We started sailing in suites on RC and X (Love X), but was really interested in the ship within a ship concept. Hadn't even heard about YC until I started doing research on Haven. Saw they'd also do a nice status match with our RC C&A, so we gave it a try. We've been on 2 cruises with MSC, Seaside and Meraviglia. Love the YC experience for all the reasons mentioned, but we still like walking around a big ship. Just booked Seascape a few days ago and already made a room change. Didn't realize there were YC rooms with a walk in closet with shelving and drawers! When I called, the nice rep noticed my loyalty status hadn't been applied to my reservation, so not only did I get a room upgrade, but I'm still saving over $200.

2 hours ago, Chris19821 said:

 

I believe there were 4 plugs in our cabin at Seascape (2 US / 2 EU) and 3 USB ports. 2 at the desk and 1 next to the bed.

 

USB next to the bed, and not an outlet, right? 

Just watched a YouTube video of a YC cabin on Seascape, and I can't believe in this day and age of so many people using CPAP machines, that the new builds don't at least have one outlet next to the bed.

2 hours ago, indianaguy said:

We got off the ship 1/2/23.   Here are some observations from someone who has cruised over 25 times mostly on Royal Caribbean and first time on MSC.   The Ship is beautiful and the food quality is very good.  My six grandsons enjoyed the water slides greatly.  Now the bad news.   It is doubtful that we ever cruise on MSC again unless we go the Yacht Club route.   We believe that Royal Caribbean is much better.  Embarkation and debarkation ran about two hours behind schedule.  It is utter chaos.  It did seem Yacht Club people got on and off easier and quicker.    Also for breakfast, only the buffet is open for non Yacht Club people.  It was constantly overcrowded and understaffed.  Elevators system is a mess.  Some elevator would be overcrowded and the next empty.  You can only take the elevator that you are assigned in order to stop at the floor you are hoping to get to.  We witnessed at least 6 bathroom floodings.    While we were traveling with our two adult children and 6 grandkids we were determined to have a great time and we did.  I just think for the money, there are better options, at least for us. 

Thanks for your honest review. We've also sailed mostly RC over the years, but gave MSC a try several years ago because we wanted to try the YC, and they also did a nice status match. Did Seashore in 2019 and Meraviglia in 2021, both times YC. (The Meraviglia cruise was one of those very low capacity cruises, it was insane with the total being just under 1000 passengers.) I can completely understand the "not RC" feeling you described. We've definitely felt that when we've sailed other lines as well. 

Just booked Seascape for September and crossing our fingers it's a good cruise. 

My husband and I are looking to book something for May. Prefer sailing out of Miami, but PC isn't out of the question either. We've been on Seaside and Meraviglia, enjoyed both very much. There's an itinerary on Seascape that looks good, a new port for us, which is rare since we've been to the Caribbean so many times over the years.

Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are regarding Seascape. First CC review I pulled up was very negative, but it doesn't sound like they were in YC, and we would be.

Happy New Year cruisers!

43 minutes ago, bar1068 said:

There is one other TA in October 2023 that currently does not show on Carnivals website, probably and somewhat oddly to me is because it's "completely booked" on the Carnival Jubilee. It's an 18 day leaving from Southhampton, going south, stops in Grand Turk before porting in Galveston TX. We're booked on that cruise, and I'm 99% certain it's not a Journeys cruise. None of the booking information shows anything about it being a Journeys cruise. This will be our 4th TA on Carnival....woulda been our 5th had we not canceled Horizon's TA. We take TA's almost 100% for the sea days..the more the better. The Jubilee has 12 sea days, with 6 consecutive after leaving Las Palmas. stops in GT...then 3 more into Galveston.

 

Some of the best sea days we've experienced on any of our cruises, have been on the TA's we've taken. Some rough, less than undesirable days mixed in, but the nice calm days far out weigh and out number those lousy days. And the "crowd" on the TA's does tend to be more...mature..as someone else mentioned with very few kids.

 

While none of our past TA's were Journeys cruises, we did have some lecturers that talked on various subjects...cruises were a while ago now so I don't recall specifics, but do know we attended a few talks on those cruises, more to hear the subject matter vs something to do on an lousy sea day. I do find it  odd that with the Jubilee TA being apparently sold out over a year out, the Celebration cruise this November shows availability for most cabin types...at a lower cost...is a shorter cruise and has fewer port stops that I'd think contribute contribute to the lower cost....still surprised a little on it's availability.

Interesting. I'll have to look into that. Definitely looking at October 2023. I'm having a second knee replacement next month. (Partial) Had my first done end of June and it went so well, couldn't see any reason to put the other one off. South Hampton would be a new port for us and a first time in the UK, so we'd definitely add on a few days days at the beginning like we did when we sailed from Barcelona. 

LOVED the sea days on our only TA...the more the better. It was the most relaxing cruise we'd ever been on. And not that we don't enjoy doing things on board, but with all those sea days you don't feel like you have to cram everything into a few days. We also don't mind some rough weather either. Makes it interesting. Galveston would also be a new port for us. We're in Chicago, so no matter where we end up, we have to fly home.

9 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I would choose the Freedom sailing. Bigger ship with more room and more dining choices and better Port stops

Thanks. Will look more into that one. I can't believe we're really considering doing this so soon. I actually ended up on the Carnival site because there was a tour of Mardi-Gras on my YouTube page, got curious and I watched it. Was looking at that ship and then went down the rabbit hole of other itineraries and here we are. 

18 hours ago, kwokpot said:

No lectures on Carnival whatsoever. Which particular sailing are you looking at? What additional information are you interested in?

Not looking at the website now, but was looking at October 2023. There were a few. Southhampton and Barcelona and Rome. I don't remember which was which, but one of them goes north and makes a stop in Bermuda, and that would be something new to us. Another stopped in Grand Turk (never been). I think that may have been the one sailing into Tampa. Anyway, itineraries looked nice. Prices were pretty good as well. Thought maybe a TA on Carnival wouldn't be like the typical Carnival cruise, would have very few children, etc. Longer cruises tend to have a more mature crowd, so maybe it wouldn't be that much different than other lines.

My husband retired this past year, and I guess you could say I'm semi-retired. Back in 2016 we did our first TA from Barcelona to the US on RC Harmony of the Seas. Always wanted to do another, and was taking a look at some of Carnival's offerings. A couple of them caught my eye. I haven't been on a Carnival cruise since 2012.Carnival Dream during Hurricane Sandy, we were on that one!    

Wondering how the TA's are on Carnival. Similar to other lines? Do they also have guest lectures on sea days, etc. 

19 minutes ago, KayRaeRae said:

You can transfer points to any Chase UR transfer partner as long as you create an account with said partner.  You do not have to open a specific CC other than your Chase card.   Here’s a list of airline partners.  

Yes! This is fantastic news. We have an American Airlines card thru Citi, but not a United Airlines card thru Chase. We do travel about 50/50 between AA and United and have had Mileage Plus reward numbers for years. Same with Hyatt and IHG. Part of their rewards program, but don't have the credit card. I had no idea we could transfer points to a reward program without having the credit card. 

Here's one for you. I recently moved points from Freedom Unlimited to Sapphire Preferred. Can points be moved more than once? Could those points sitting on my Sapphire Preferred card be moved to a Chase travel partner?

31 minutes ago, jules815 said:

So I'm not 100% sure if I'm correct, but doing a little more research (and watching several YouTube videos about Chase Ultimate Rewards), it looks like you may be able to transfer Ultimate Reward Points to Chase travel partners, only if you have a loyalty reward member number and not necessarily a credit card. For instance, we don't have a Chase United credit card, but we've had United Mileage Plus rewards numbers that we always use when we book travel on the United website. I think because we have the loyalty number, you can make the point transfer. Can anyone confirm this? 

 

 

Obsessing a little over this, but did a deep dive on an Ultimate Rewards sub Reddit, and someone did confirm that yes, not necessary to have an actual credit card to transfer Ultimate Rewards points. You can transfer as long as you have a reward number with a Chase travel partner. (United, Hyatt, IHG, Southwest, etc.) This makes the game a little more interesting. 

So I'm not 100% sure if I'm correct, but doing a little more research (and watching several YouTube videos about Chase Ultimate Rewards), it looks like you may be able to transfer Ultimate Reward Points to Chase travel partners, only if you have a loyalty reward member number and not necessarily a credit card. For instance, we don't have a Chase United credit card, but we've had United Mileage Plus rewards numbers that we always use when we book travel on the United website. I think because we have the loyalty number, you can make the point transfer. Can anyone confirm this? 

17 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

Sapphire cards provide a free DoorDash membership

I didn't know this!!  

4 hours ago, dianajo67 said:

We also use the Chase Sapphire Reserve for travel and have the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited for the rotating categories to get 5% each quarter.  Nice thing is that we can pool all those points under the Chase Reserve Card in order to get 150% value during redemption for travel.  Preferred is 125%.

Question. When I'm on the Ultimate Rewards portal, it's only showing the points I have so far on our Freedom card. Sapphire is listed, but currently has no points. I'm about to start using Sapphire for monthly streaming services. Is it necessary to combine points and have them on one card when booking travel thru the portal? Or will it automatically combine the points? Does that make sense??

14 hours ago, MaryZ said:

I do think the OP's financial advisor was giving them great information on how to continue your traveling without having to spend down your liquid cash or by pulling money out before you actually have to. 

Thank you. We didn't think it was bad advice at all. We were having the "retirement talk," and mentioned travel. His parents were just in Australia and paid for the trip using points. He was telling us how he's doing the same thing, but with a Chase Disney card and is transferring all of his points to that card to take his family on a paid Disney vacation. We're still on the young side for retirees, 65 and 61, and knock on wood, hopefully have the time to tick off the items on our bucket list. Paying with points makes it a game, and I'm all about that. Let the games begin!  😊

3 hours ago, dianajo67 said:

We had to get rid of our preferred card to make room for the reserve for example.  Chase monitors how many chase cards you have.

Interesting. We have a Sapphire Preferred and our newest Chase card is a Freedom Unlimited which has no annual fee and gives 1.5 on most purchases, 5 on travel, 3 at pharmacies, etc. This is the card we've been using like a debit since May and putting EVERYTHING on it.  Just learned that Sapphire gives 3 points for streaming services, so about to make that change. 

I'm interested in the Sapphire Reserve, we get upgrade offers often, but that annual fee is the only thing holding me back. Question though. Does the reserve card grant access to all airport lounges, and would it include my spouse? If it wouldn't ding our credit, I wouldn't have a problem closing one of the other cards.

Really appreciate all the info. Like I said, starting to climb the walls since my knee surgery, and this has given me something fun to do and get excited about planning our next trip. 

30 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Welcome to the club. I had my knee replaced this past February. So I'm at 5 months and I'm doing good but wish my healing would progress a little faster. Still numb and swollen on one side. Still have some pain at times but not bad. I am exercising the heck out of it so that could be some of it. Stick to your rehab religiously.

Thanks! Only at 3 weeks, and just recently started out patient PT. Still very numb on one side, but starting to have some sharp little jolts of pain, mostly at night of course, and therapist said that's my knee starting to wake up. I've been pretty good about doing my home stretches and exercises. Yesterday they put me on a bike, and I couldn't do an entire rotation without it being super painful (still feels raw in there), so she had me do halves, not going all the way around. She assured me that the stiffness I'm feeling is normal and that could take a long time to go away. Last night was probably the best night's sleep I've had since having it done. Really hard to get comfortable, but last night I was finally able to sleep for a while on my side with a pillow between my legs. 

They actually asked my husband to come back as a consultant for a 6 month project they wanted him to manage, and he said no.  Not worth the stress.  Retiring was a good decision for him.

We've never flown with Southwest, but they're out of O'Hare now, so finally they're an option for us. 

I'm starting to look at cruises for early April 2023. Hopefully in 9 months I'll be back to normal. 

Hi everyone, haven't posted here in a while but always lurking. Also, I had knee replacement surgery 3 weeks ago and am doing really well, but am bored out of my mind. 

My husband recently took early retirement after over 30 years in a high level, extremely stressful, IT position at a major bank. Best thing he's ever done!  Early in June we had the "what do you want to do in your retirement" meeting with our financial guy. Of course travel came up, and he told us about how his retired parents travel all the time using their accrued credit card points. We used to do something similar with our Marriott card rewards back when our daughters were in college and we'd travel to see them. For years we rarely paid for hotels. Anyway, we recently started using a credit card instead of our debit card for all of our purchases, including all the online recurring payments we have set up. Went on the Chase Ultimate Rewards website yesterday and blown away with how many points we already have with only one billing cycle. So now I understand how his retired parents are able to do all the travel. This is a very good thing! Cash back is also an option with this card.

In addition to flights, hotels, rental cars, etc., you can purchase cruises. (I also really like that you can use your points plus cash.) Several Royal Caribbean itineraries, including one to Bermuda from Baltimore on Enchantment that caught my eye.

Just curious if any other retirees play the points game and if this is how you afford to travel as much as you do. Have you ever booked a RC cruise using points?

My husband and I haven't cruised since October on Meraviglia, so I'm pretty out of the loop. Unless I have something booked, it bums me out to read Cruise Critic.

Just chatting with my husband about how I miss at least having a cruise "in the hopper."  Something to look forward to. I just had knee replacement surgery a few weeks ago, and doing really well, but need a light at the end of the tunnel.  We're also considering surprising our 2 adult daughters (28 and 31) who have cruised many times, but it's been a while since we've all gone together. Started searching for April out of Miami and Seascape keeps popping up. New ship? Has it sailed yet? Any photos? Does it resemble Meraviglia or Seaside? We'll be in Yacht Club.  Off to check the Google machine, but thought I'd check here first.

Thanks.

22 hours ago, coaster said:

Post on Twitter also stating the Norwegian Gem is also being denied disembarkation at Great Stirrup Cay right next to CocoCay.

MSC ship was also denied at their island, Ocean Cay.

On 11/2/2021 at 1:38 PM, MonsterJoe said:

 

It is indeed a nice great place to take a walk.  The paths are lined with great sounding speakers (not too loud...ambient) and just about everywhere you look is a great photo opportunity.

 

Those speakers were great. We were impressed that they're synchronized. And you're right, just loud enough and really good music selection.

We over nighted  at Ocean Cay last month, and the first day was a total beach day for us (loved!). Second day we got off the ship after breakfast and walked all over the island. We walked to the Lighthouse Bar and had a couple of drinks. Very impressed with the design and size of that bar. I bet it will be hopping during non-covid sailings. Caught the shuttle and went back to the Yacht Club beach and had lunch again at Ocean House restaurant.  

We were really impressed with Ocean Cay. They did a great job. 

1 hour ago, racephoto said:

Is this YC coffee you’re talking about, or coffee for us regular folks?

We were in the YC. 

My husband and I were on Meraviglia a couple of weeks ago. We were just talking about how everything on the ship was great, but for him, he really loved the coffee. His experience on other lines has been that unless you ordered a specialty coffee, you could pretty much guarantee the coffee wouldn't be very good. This cruise was different though. Everything he ordered was very good, including the room service coffee. He never used the Nespresso in the room. I'm not a coffee drinker (love the smell, hate the taste), but the tea was good too. (Twinings)